Car Owner Rick Hendrick Sentenced

31 December 1997

ASHEVILLE, NC: It was a year full of tears for Rick
Hendrick. There were tears of joy as his three car racing team finished
first, second, and third in the Daytona 500. His star driver, Jeff
Gordon, captured the Winston Cup Championship in November. There were
tears of sadness throughout the year as Hendrick continued his battle with
myelogenous leukemia, a form of bone-marrow cancer. Then, on the final
day of the year, Hendrick was sentenced to one year of in home detention,
three years probation, and a $250,000 fine for his part in the American
Honda Motor Company bribery and kickback scandal.

In August, Hendrick confessed to sending $20,000 to a Honda executive. He
also pleaded guilty to mail fraud. The crimes could have put Hendrick in
prison for five years in addition to his $250,000 fine.

After the sentencing, the 48 year old car owner commented, "I've come to
realize that what I did was wrong and I accept responsibility for that. I
would rather die than hurt these people the way I have. I've accepted the
fact that I may only have a couple of years to live and I am at peace with
that because I have been blessed with a wonderful family and friends."

Harold Bender, defense attorney said, "He has been punished by someone of
higher authority when he was stricken with this illness." Bender sought
at 10 month sentence for Hendrick.

Today's sentencing put to rest a three year battle with the government.
Officials claimed Hendrick built his car dealership empire through bribery
and scandal. Other car dealers are still pursuing the issue. Hendrick
faces over 50 lawsuits from competitors who are accusing him of unfair
competition

Originally, Hendrick was charged with bribery, conspiracy, and thirteen
counts of money laundering. The conspiracy and money laundering charges
were dropped as part of a plea agreement when Hendrick admitted to giving
cash to a Honda executive.

Attorney for the United States, Mark Calloway was satisfied with the
sentencing. He said, "The sentence called for by the plea agreement
tempers justice with mercy. While the crime to which Mr. Hendrick has
admitted his guilt is a serious one, in light of his health, the sentence
range agreed to seems appropriate."

Hendrick was named with 22 other defendants who have been convicted in the
investigation of American Honda.

The scandal started in the 80s as Hondas were in high demand. Dealers
could sell the cars for thousands of dollars above the sticker cost.
Executives at Honda took advantage of the high demand by soliciting bribes
from dealers. Dealers were granted new dealerships and increased
shipments of cars. In all, Honda executives accepted of $15 million in
bribes and kickbacks, according to the prosecutors.

Hendrick's name appeared on the prosecutor's list three years ago.
Hendrick admitted giving hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, BMWs
and even houses to Honda executives. Hendrick claims he received nothing
in return.

Hendrick was indicted in December 1996, by a federal grand jury in
Asheville for bribing Honda executives. The indictment came just two
weeks after Hendrick was told he had leukemia.